Derfer



(N0 Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G.'C. BLICKENSDERPER. TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 G. C. BLICKENSDERFER.

(No Model.)

TYPE 'WRITING MACHINE.

Patented Apr'. 12, 1892.

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qmilwwooeo UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. f

vGEORGE C. BLICKENSDERFER, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THEBLICKENSDERFER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TYPE-'WRITING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,693, dated Aprilv12, 1892.

i Application iiled October 29,1891. Serial No. 410.230. (No model.)

T a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, GEORGE C. BLICKENS- DERFER, a citizen ofthe UnitedStates, residing at Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inType-Triting Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenableothio ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to type-Writing machines; and it consists incertain improvements in the construction thereof, as will be I 5hereinafter fully set forth,and pointed outin the claims. p

In illustrating my invention in the accompanying drawings I have onlyshown such parts of the whole machine as are necessary to zo properlyillustrate the improvements in construction, which I shall describe andclaim.

Figure l is a perspective showingimprovements in the feed mechanism bywhich the paper-carriage is moved; Fig. l, a detail z5 showing the pawland cam. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking from thel right of Fig. 6 withthe frame of the machine in vertical section on the line 2 in said Fig.6. Fig. 3 is a plan of the under side of the paper-carriage. Fig. 3o iis an elevation of left-hand end o f the carriage. Fig. 5 is atransverse section of the carriage,taken on the line 5 in Fig. 6,1ookingtoward the right of that iigure. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of thecarriage, part of the frame-work, and part of the feeding mechanism.Fig. 7 is a like View t-o Fig. 6 with the carriage removed and anadjustable stop attachment in place. Fig. S is a side elevation of theadjustable stop attachment and a frag- 4o ment of the paper-carriage.

Like parts in the various figures are designated by the same letters ofreference and Will bereferred to in proper place therein.

A marks the frame-work of the machine;

B B, the key-lever mechanism; C, the bail 'moved by the key-levers; D,the rock-shaft that is moved by the bail; E, the carriagefeedingshaft;E,the ratchet-wheel that moves the shaft E; E2, the ratchet-wheel thatchecks 5o or locks the shaft E against rotation; E3, the pinion on theshaft E that engages the rack G on the carriage, and G the frame-work ofthe carriage.

The operation of the feed-shaft E and its connection with the carriageis the same in this case as in the construction shown in Letters PatentNo. 459,093, issued to me on September 8, 1891,A and my presentinvention in relation to the feed mechanism relates to the constructionof the ratchets which move and 6o lock the shaft E and the pawls whichact upon said ratchets. As before stated, E is the propelling-ratchetand E2 the locking-ratchet. These are of the ordinary form and havetheir teeth pointing in opposite directions. The ratchet E is acted uponby the pawl F and the ratchet E2 by the pawl F2. The pawlF is pivoted atfon the rear end of the frame-work vA, Figs. 2 and 7, is held up out ofaction by a spring f2, and is brought into action by a 7o cam F on therock-shaft D, which cam carries a friction-roller f. On the rock-shaft Dthere is a pawl F2, which engages the teeth of the ratchet E2 j ustas-the cam F has depressed the paWl F to its limit and moved the shaftEone degree. The ratchet E2 having its teeth pointed in opposition to theratchet E', the pawl F2, when it engages the ratchet E2, will lock theshaft E against further movement.

The advantage of this construction over that 8vo shown in the patentabove referred to is chiefly that'the ratchets E and E2 can be soadjusted on the shaft with relation to each other and to the pawlsthat'act upon them that there will be no lost motion, and in case 8 5 ofwear of parts causing any lost motion the dierence can be readily takenup by a readjustment of the ratchets, and the object of thisconstruction is to secure this advantage.

The bed-frame of the paper-carriage cn- 9o sists of two parallel bars GG, which are bound together by suitable cross-pieces g. In theframe-work of the machine are mounted lower sheaves H H and an uppersheave H', which -form a way for the parallel bars G of the carriage,and a hook-plate h holds the rear bar in place on the rear sheave H. Thecarriage being thus mounted so as to Arest on sheaves its action is veryfree and easy.

All type-writers are provided with some mechanism to limit the traverseof the carriage upon the frame of thc machine. The

- riage, so that when lnoved the predetermined distance the movement ofthe carriage will be arrested. In the usual operation of thek machinesthe attention of the operator is called to the fact that the carriagehas almost reached the limit of the traverse from right to left by theringing of a bell. This warns the operator that he has space to add afew more letters. If the warning is not heeded, the letters are piledupon each other. To overcome this objection astop normally in the pathof the carriage is arranged between the terminal or predetermined pointsof traverse to stop the movement of the carriage before the end of itstraverse from right to left. The stop is made movable, so that when thecarriage has been stopped its onward progress may be continued by movingone or both of the parts forming the stop out of contact with eachother. This stop is designed to control the character-impressing or downmovement of the key-levers, which are connected in such a way withthecarriage that when said stop operates to stop the carriage the downor impressing movement of the key-levers is dis` continued before theimpression can be made, and the impression cannot be madel until thestop has been moved out of the path of the carriage, which can then bemoved without interfering with the impressing movement of thekey-levers.

My preferred arrangement is to have the movable part of the stop uponthe carriage and the fixed part of the stop upon the frame, or, as shownin the drawings, a part of the frame itself. The movable part Gr2 of thestop isin the rear end of oneof the barsGand strikes against the frameA, as seen in Fig. 1, when the carriage is about at the limit of itsforward traverse and prevents its further movement in a forwarddirection, and this in turn will hold the shaft E against forwardmovement and so prevent the pawl Fv from being moved downward, and hencelocks the shaft D against being rocked, and as the shaft D carries thetype-wheel shaft (not here shown) the contacting of the type with ,thepaper is prevented. The action of the catch or stop GJe is so timed asto cause the above-described locking of the machine two or threeletter-spaces before the extreme right of the paper'is within thetype-field, and I make the stop G2 movable out of the way by turning iton its pivot, so that the machine will be unlocked and the carriage freeto move.

When the locking occurs, the operator knows he has about reached the endo f a line, and he then moves the stopG2 so that the carriage can; goon, and he then properly completes the line by putting in the lastletters or a hyphen, if necessary, and then reverses the carriage readyfor a new line. The fact that the stop 'G2 not only stops the carriagebefore the end of the line is reached, but locks the machineeffectually, prevents the printing of two or more letters on top of eachother and also enables the operator to always finish a line properl y.When this stop attachment is used, an alarm-bell is not necessary; but Ishow one at K, Figs. 2 and 7, and provide means for sounding it, whichform no part of my present invention.

In two applications for patents by me now pending in thePatent Office,Serial Nos. 398,672 and 399,117, I have shown means for stopping thepaper-carriage so as to columnate matter, and in said application,Serial No. 399,117 I have also shown means for quickly changing thewidth of the left-hand margin. In the accompanying drawings I have shownalternative means for the same purposes.

The means here'shown forvarying the width of the left-hand margin on theprinted page isv not only adapted to quickly effect the change by themanipulation of a hand-lever, but to doso with accuracy and precision,so that the margin may be changed from one width to another and backagain to the precise former width without loss of time. The said meanshere shown consist of a graduated stop-bar L on the framey of themachine and an adjustable catch-lever Gvon the carriage, which willcontact with any of the various graduations of the stop-bar, accordingto the position in which it is placed, and I use a graduated scale g',bywhichthe said catch can be quickly and accurately adjusted. Eachscale-mark on the scale g represents a certain width of margin, and bynoting the said scalemarks the operator can quickly set the lever G3 soas to make such a change in the width of margin as he desires and thenchange back to the former width with exactness. The catch-lever Gr3 hasa handle g3 at its outer end and a point g2 on its inner and lower end,which is below the carriage, for engaging with the stop-bar Il, Figs. 2and 7. The advantage in having the variable catch-lever on the car- IODIIO

riage and the stop-bar on the frame of the machine is to enable theoperator to make the desired changes with the hand with whichhe may bemoving the carriage back to position fora new line, and it also bringsthe adjustingscale on the carriage into plain view.

In the said pending applications, serially numbered 398,672 and 399,117,Ishow columnatingdevices havinga series of keys, which act eitherdirectly upon a stop or upon intermediate mechanism between the keys andstops. In the device shown in this application the keys' are dispensedwith, that result being accomplished by having the movable part of thestop lnechanism operated directly by thehand or finger of the-operatorand the extent of the movement of said movable part regulated by thehand or finger coming in contact with a fixed part of the machine. themovable part relative to the stop is varied to meet these differentconditions. It is obvious that the forms ,the location, and the ar- Thethrow of y rangementof the parts could be varied considerably withoutdeparting from the features above enumerated. A type of constructionembodying those features is herein shown, and consists of a stop-bar M,att-ached to the frame A and having a variable graduated stop-block Mthereon, (one or more of said blocks, as desired,) as seen in Figs. 6, 7and 8, and a variable catch-lever G6 on the carriage, which will engageany of the graduations of the stop-block M according to the position itis put into when the carriage isbeing moved. The stop block or blocks Mon the bar M are so placed as to bring the column or columns at thedesired place on the paper. This adj ustment is eected bya set-screw mand nut m2 on the block and a slotmin thebar. (See Figs. 7 and 8.) Thenotches or graduations on the blocks M may be as many in number asdesired, and they represent the units, tens, hundreds, and so on, of theamounts to be printed. The movable catch-lever G6 onl the carriage ishere shown as a right-angled or elbow lever, which is fulcrumed upon thecarriage, and is moved into the path of the stationary stop bythe hand.Any suitable means may be provided for regulating the distance that thelever may move; but I prefer a limiting-bar having recesses orserrations, such as shown in the drawings and marked G5. This barextends up along the vertical end of the lever G' and a little to therear of it, (see Fig. 8,) and has curved recesses or serrations in itfitting the nger of the operator, which serrations are numbered. Bypressing with the finger on the edge of the lever G6 opposite oneof theserrations in the horn G5 the lever will be moved back until the iingerrests against the horn, and the nearer the finger is to the pivot of thelever the farther will the horizontal end of the lever be depressed, andthe farther it is depressed the sooner will the point of it come incontact with the block M on the bar M and the carriage be stopped, andvice versa. Therefore if we understand the top notch of'the block M torepresent units, the second tens, the third hundreds, and the fourththousands, and the operator in pushing the carriage forward will put hisfinger so as to press on the lever G6 opposite the top serration Z, onthe horn G5, the lower point of the lever will be depressed, so as tocontact with the upper notch of the block M', and the carriage will bestopped so as to print a unit-ligure, and if the operator places hisiinger opposite the lower serration the horn G5 will be so far depressedthat its point will strike against the lower extreme end of the block Mand the carriage will be stopped, so that a number having fourdgits canbe printed and have its units, tens, hundreds, and thousands in linewith like numerals above it. This construction of the means forcolumnating matter is advantageous, in that it is cheaper to make andsimpler to operate than a series of key-actuated catches.

In the construction here shown, Figs. 2, 4,

.I marks the platen, which may be of any desiredv construction, isjournaled in brackets G4 on the carriage, and is rotated step by step bya lever J2, as in my former construction above referred to.

. J is the pressure-roll, which is journaled in a frame P, pivoted tothe brackets G4 at p, is held against the platen'by aspring p', andisraised up against the spring, when desired, by a lever-extension P ofthe frame P. On one end of the platen and of the roller I place coggearsj j, which mesh together, so that the roller J is given a positivemovement from the platen. The teeth of the gears are made long, so thatwhen manifolding with several sheets of paper and carbons between theroller and platen the gears will not be disengaged. By thus gearing theroller and platen together and so giving a positive movement to theroller there will be no slipping of one sheet ot' paper upon the otherwhen manifolding, and hence no smearing of the sheets from the carbons.A

On the under side of the platen I place a curved shield R or guide forthe paper, which not only guides and shields the paper, but holds it upagainst the platen at the point fr below the printing-point. The shieldR -is pivoted at r, (see Fig. 5,) and is scheld by the spring r as topress the edge r of the shield gently against the platen.

In putting in the paper or when for any reason it is wished to move oradjust it the operator will with the ngers of his hand reach under therear part'of the shield and with the thumb of the same hand press uponthe front side of the lever-extension P of the frame P, and by exertingapressure willthrow the roller J up from the platen and the shield edge oaway from the platen simultaneously,` as shown in Fig. 5, and the paperwill be env tirely free to be moved as desired.

I do not herein claim an attachment for type-writing machines consistingof a series of stops arranged side by side and at a letter-spacedistance apart for the purpose of determining the stopping-point ot' thecarriage and enabling such point to be varied at each successi-ve line;nor the combination of a carriage,a stop mechanism for arresting thecarriage'at different points as it moves to the left, and a keymechanism for manipulating IOO IIO

said stop mechanism; nor the combination of a .mined type-space distancefrom the predetermined uniform units-point, according to the key that ismanipulated; nor the com bination of a carriage, a stop mechanism forarresting the carriage at varying desired distances from a uniformterminal-point while moving to-y ward that point, and a key mechanismfor positioning said stop during the traverse of v the carriage, asthese subjects-matter are emlines, consisting of a graded series ofcatches on the carriage and a variable stop on the frame-work, as thatbroad subject-matter is embraced in application Serial No. 399,117,filed by me July 11, 1891; nor do I claim in this application thecombination of a stop and a catch variably engaging and manuallyadjustable relative to said stop and automatically reverting to auniform normal position, nor when said catch is variable longitudinally,nor when said catch is normally out of the path of the stop, nor whensaid catch is under the control of the operators hand, as suchconstructions form part of the subjects-matter of application, SerialNo. 422,867, filed by me February 26, 1892.

What I claim as new isf l. In a type-writing machine, the combination,with the paper-carriage thereof, of a feed-shaft gearing onto saidcarriage, a rock- -shaft moved by the key-levers, two ratchets on thefeed-shaft, having op positely-directed teeth, and two pawls movedbysaid rock-shaft, one of which acts upon one oL said ratchets to movethe feed-shaftforward and the other acts upon the other of said ratchetsto stop the said movement of the feed-shaft as said rock-shaft is movedby any of the key-levers.

2. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the paper carriagethereof, of a feed-shaft for moving said carriage, which is gearedthereto positively, a rock-shaft that is -moved positively by eachkey-lever when depressed, mechanism for moving said rockshaft, and alock on said carriage, which when engaged to lock the carriageeffectuates the locking of the key-levers, as set forth.

3. In a type-writing machine, the combination of a frame, a carriagehaving a predetermined traverse on said frame, and a movable stopnormally in the path of traverse and to temporarily stop the carriagebefore the end of its movement, whereby the operator isenabledtoproperly complete a line.

4. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the frame of themachine, the paper-carriage having a predetermined movement, and thekey-levers, of a stop operated by said carriage to lock the key-leversagainst down movement before the full movement of the carriage iscompleted.

5. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the frame ofthemachine, the paper-carriage having a predetermined movement,key-levers, and intermediate mechanism between said key-levers andcarriage for moving said carriage on the downstroke of the key-levers,of a stop operated by said carriage to lock the key-levers against downmovement before the full movement of the carriage is completed.

6. In a type-writing machine, the combination of the frame of themachine, the papercarriage having a predetermined movement to the left,the key-levers, and a stop for controlling the down movements of saidkey-levers by means of said carriage, said stop being normally in thepath of movement of and stopping said carriage before the end of saidpredetermined movement and manually controlled to move it out of the wayof the carriage.

7. In a type-writing machine, the combination of the frame of themachine, a paper-carriage in said frame, having a predeterminedmovement, and a stop, one part upon the carriage and the other upon theframe and one normally in the path of the other and one of thepartsmovable out of the way of the other to allow the carriage to bemoved' forward and complete its traverse.

8. In a type-writing machine, the combination of the frame of themachine and a papercarriage moving upon said framea predetermineddistance and having a stop normally in position to engage with saidframe when the carriage has been moved to a certain point and manuallymovable to allow said carriage to proceed after said engagement to itspredetermined distance.

9. In a type-writing machine, the combination of the frame of a machine,a paper-carriage moving upon said frame a predetermined distance, and aswinging stop hanging from the paper-carriage in position to engage withsaid frame before the carriage has moved said distance and arranged tobe moved out of the way of the frame to allow the carriage to proceed.

10. In a type-writing machine and for the purpose of regulating thewidth of the margin on the left of the sheet to be printed, thecombination, with the paper-carriage, of a series of graduated stops onthe frame of the machine below the carriage, a variable catchlever onsaid carriage for engaging said stops, and means for indicating theposition of said lever.

11. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the paper-carriagethereof, of means for limiting its movement toward the right and therebyregulating the width of the left-hand' margin on the paper to beprinted, consisting of a series of fixed graduated stops on the frame ofthe machine below the carriage and a variable catch-lever on thecarriage at the left end thereof in position to be operated by the lefthand of the operator.

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12. In a type-writing machine having a movable carriage, a stopmechanism composed of a stationary part and amovable part, which isoperated bythe hand and the movement of which is limited by the handcoming in contact with a fixed part of the machine.

13. In a type-Writing machine having a movable carriage, a stopmechanism consisting of two parts, one upon the frame of the machine andthe other upon the carriage, one part being manually movable on the partto which it is secured to put it in line for contact with the fixed partof the stop and its limit of movement being regulated by the operatorshand contacting with the part to which it is secured.

14. In a type-writing machine having a movable carriage, a stopmechanism consisting of two parts, one upon the frame and the other uponthe carriage, one part being manually moved through a slot in the partto which it is attached to put said movable part in line for contactwith the fixed part of the stop and its limit of movement beingregulated by the operators hand contacting with the slotted part throughwhich the movable part of the stop works.

15. In a type-writing machine having a movable carriage, a stopmechanism composed of two parts, a stationary part on the frame ofthemachine and a movable part on the carriage, said movable part beingmanually operated to put it in line with the stationary part and itsmovement being limited by the hand contacting with a recessed part ofthe carriage.

1G. In a type-writing machine, the combination of a movable carriagehaving a iiXed recessed bar and a stop mechanism having a stationarypart upon the machine and a manually-operated movable part upon thecarriage, the movement of said movable part being regulated by the handcontact-ing with the recessed bar.

17. In a type-writing machine, the combination of a movable carriagehaving a fixed vertical bar and a stop mechanism having a stationaryYpart upon the machine and an elbow-lever stop upon the carriage, one endof said lever being in line with the vertical bar, which limits themovement thereof.

1S. In 'a type-writing machine, a columnating attachment consisting of astop and a catch-lever on the part of the machine opposite to the stophaving a variable throw relative to said stop.

19. In a type-writing machine, a columnating attachment consisting of astop connected with the frame of the machine and a catchlever having avariable throw relative to the stop and carried on the carriage.

20. In a type-writing machine, a columnating attachment consisting of astop connected with the frame of the machine and standing in a verticalposition and a vertical catchlever having a variable throw relative tothe stop and carried on the carriage. i

2l. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the paper-carriagethereof, of means for stopping the carriage at various predeterminedpoints in its traverse toward the left for the purpose of verticallyaligning matt-erto be printed, consisting of adjustablyfixed stopsconnected with the frame of the machine below the carriage and acatch-lever having a variable throw and carried on the carriage inposition to be manipulated by the hand of the operator while moving thecarriage to the left.

22. In a type-writing machine and for the purpose of stopping thecarriage thereof. at various predetermined points While movlng to theleft, so as to vertically align matter to be printed, the combination,with said carriage, of adj ustably-fixed stops connected wit-h the frameof the machine below the .caryriage, a variable catch-lever on theIcarriage in position to engage said stops as manipulated, and a fixedlimiting-bar by the side of said lever to limit the degree of movementof said lever.

23. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the carriagethereof, of a variablecatch mechanism on the carriage for engaging afixed stop on the frame and stopping the carriage at any predeterminedpoint when the same is moving to the right, so as to regulate the pointof beginning of the lines of printing, and a second variable-catchmechanism on the carriage for engaging a fixed stop on the frame andstopping the carriage at any predetermined point when moving to theleft, so as to regulate the vertical alignment of numerals. Y

24. In a type-writing machine, the combination, with the platen, of aspring-actuated presser-roll acting against the top of sald platen and aspring-actuated tilting concave shield surrounding the lower part ofsaid platen and pressing with its lower edge upon the said platen belowthe type-field, and means, substantially as set forth, whereby the saidtilting parts may be simultaneously moved away from the platen bypressure exerted by the thumb and finger of the operator, as set forth.l l

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE C. BLIOKENSDERFER Witnessesz n M. F. HALLECK, FRANKLIN MOORE.

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